DUSHANBE, October 11, 2013, Asia-Plus – An official source at the Tajik state railway company, Tajik Railways, says Uzbek railroaders could be to blame for recent Tajik train derailment in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh province.
“The Dushanbe-Khujand train could derail through the fault of Uzbek railroaders,” the source said, noting that specialists from O”zbekiston Temir Yo”llari (Uzbek state railway company) were repairing rail lines in the Gallaaral district.
“They have not notified the Tajik side of repair operations on that stretch of the railway,” said the source. “Our representatives jointly with representatives from the Ministry of Transport (MoT) are currently at the Tajik train derailment site to find out the circumstances of the incident.”
According to him, that train is no regular on that railway, and therefore, they notified Uzbek colleagues of the train with conscripts on board two days before the train departure.
“They, however, did not notify the Tajik side of the repair operations carried out in the area,” the source added.
We recall that some 200 conscripts reportedly were on board the Dushanbe-Khujand train when it derailed in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh province.
An official source at the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Tajikistan says the Dushanbe-Khujand train derailed in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh province on October 10 at 10:28 am.
“Some 200 conscripts and several officers were on board the train when five passenger cars derailed,” said the source. “The accident took place in the Gallaaral district of the Jizzakh province.”
According to him, at least 33 persons were injured in the incident. All injured persons were reportedly taken to the central district hospital of Gallaaral.
Tajik Railways says the train was in satisfactory condition and had no technical problems. “Operating conditions of the train could scarcely cause the incident,” the source at Tajik Railways said.
Passengers of the wrecked train, including 33 injured, were carried to the Spitamen district in the Tajik northern province of Sughd in the evening of October 10.
